There's also a mention in one episode of a class taught by Sheldon, though it's considered an ordeal to take it (that's one way to get back into his good graces, if you somehow offend him).

i don't think this was meant to be a real academic class via the university but rather shelden has so many personal rules to abide by that if you make infractions, he has a home-made class complete with syllabus and lectures to educate you on the do's and don'ts of shelden cooper.

That certainly sounds like the boys, yes. (Except the poorly paid part, for Sheldon - see the earlier reference to his uncashed pay cheques.)

To the OP's original question, despite the actors' ages, I think Sheldon's probably the youngest of the guys, probably closer to Penny's age - he's an insanely high level child prodigy, who seems to have gotten his PhD in his mid-teens, so about 10 years before the others, relatively speaking, but he doesn't seem to have been at the school for that much longer than them, so I'd say he's probably about 5 years younger. (Could go a bit older if his 'visiting faculty' travels went a good long while.)

In the episode where Leonard is telling Penny about how he came to live with Sheldon, it seemed pretty clear to me that Sheldon was already fairly well established in his sparsely-furnished apartment. Did they refer to Sheldon's position at the school in that episode, or mention anything about how long he'd been there?

I always assumed they were non-faculty researchers. They never call each other or are referred to as "Professor," so they are clearly not faculty. It's always "Dr." this and "Dr." that, so a professor position is out. Whether or not CalTech actually has non-postdoc, non-faculty research positions, I don't know -- but other institutions do.

A standard research university will have some faculty with research-only duties. Typical titles might be "Research Scientist" or some such. But it gets confusing. One department I worked at had several low level teaching-only flunkies with "Research Scientist" titles. This let the place pay them less, not worry about long term contracts (the money and thus the position could go away rather quickly) with no tenure prospects.

As to the Dr./Prof. nomenclature, it also varies. At my first position I was "Professor", at the next one sometimes "Professor" and sometimes "Doctor" and then at the last one just "Doctor". So I wouldn't go by any of the show's terminology. Especially since they have no idea as to how the real CalTech is run.

But if you're doing research, you will have grad students. They are a must.

Leonard does donate to the sperm bank and the first scene is him waiting for Sheldon to finish (he didn't like the "motivational materials" I believe, so it took him longer). They are doing it so they can have money for dinner. And there is a nerd girl Sheldon had sex with while cosplaying as Spock undergoing Pon Farr.

Definitely not the pilot I saw when they sent me a video and a questionnaire. My parents, who watched it with me, would have freaked.

Did the first pilot even get it picked up? Starting off with frank masturbation jokes doesn't seem to be a winning formula for a sitcom, as they traditionally want a family audience.

A standard research university will have some faculty with research-only duties. Typical titles might be "Research Scientist" or some such. But it gets confusing. One department I worked at had several low level teaching-only flunkies with "Research Scientist" titles. This let the place pay them less, not worry about long term contracts (the money and thus the position could go away rather quickly) with no tenure prospects.

Most universities will have people with this status, but the usual title for them is "adjunct" or "instructor". Sometimes an adjunct can (with luck) become tenure-track, sometimes they jump around from place to place every few years, and sometimes they just keep getting their contract renewed year after year for an entire career.

IMO, the reason he's not cannonically asperger's is because th writers don't want to be accussed of "not doing the research".

I think you're sort of right, but I'd come at it from another direction: If they officially gave Sheldon Asperger's, they'd be imposing restraints on their own writing. They're going to write the character in whatever way they think is funny or advances the story, and they sure don't need a bunch people saying "A person with Asperger's would never do that!!!!!1!!!11!!!"

I read an interview with one of the producers last year in which he said that Sheldon doesn't have Asperger's because if he did, they'd be making fun of a handicapped person every week.

Basically, it's OK to laugh at someone who's weird, but it's not OK to laugh at someone who suffers from a medical condition and can't help doing what he does.

I like the way his mom puts it-- That he's one of God's own special people. I mean, you can tell that she means that sincerely, not in the derogatory sense of "special", but that she also doesn't really have a clue what to do with him.

I like the way his mom puts it-- That he's one of God's own special people. I mean, you can tell that she means that sincerely, not in the derogatory sense of "special", but that she also doesn't really have a clue what to do with him.

We don't know much about Leonard's financial situation, but Sheldon is definitely living below his means. There was a plot involving him giving a loan to Penny, and it was made clear that Sheldon has money but doesn't really care about money. It would certainly fit his character to eschew a more expensive apartment when his current dwelling is perfectly adequate for his needs.

And as someone else mentioned, they probably room together more for social than economic reasons.

Also there may be an element here of subverting the common sitcom trope of people living in a disproportionately high style, plus as a prior post mentioned, the writers probably use it as a way to telegraph "nerdy environment". Which as you mention plays well together with the type of character that would feel no rational need to go all GQ/AD on his home environment.

The economic situation of Sheldon and Leonard is a mess. Sheldon has repeatedly said that if he could afford to live on his own (and drive) he wouldn't need Leonard.

But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Sheldon can't drive, has no desire to drive, and has no desire to take public transportation. So he needs Leonard or he needs to hire a 24/7 car service. That's the part he can't afford.

But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Sheldon can't drive, has no desire to drive, and has no desire to take public transportation. So he needs Leonard or he needs to hire a 24/7 car service. That's the part he can't afford.

He would take public transportation, but they won't let him use bungee cords to fasten himself in the seat. I agree with Sheldon. If they require seat belts on air planes then they should require them on buses also.

You guys should watch the original pilot, where they aren't rich PhDs and Leonard and Sheldon sell their sperm for money, and Sheldon has actually had sex. And there's no Howard or Raj.

Jim Parsons is 38 in real life? I got the feeling that since he'd graduated college so early he would be the youngest character.

I've never seen them teach a class although Sheldon has given a lecture before. Leonard mentions that he pretty much sits and thinks about physics all day for grant money. That was in the most recent episode.

Raj is in a rat hole of an apartment and always talking about how awful it is to live in India but apparently he's actually quite rich and grew up in an affluent household.

Saw the pilot - my daughter was disapointed at the thought of Sheldon as a 'Normal' person - she will not watch it because of it.

Well, the pilot doesn't mention their jobs or education level, they decide to leave the sperm bank without donating, and Howard and Raj do show up. And there's no reference to suggest Sheldon has had sex, although there is a moment where he tries to impress Penny, which I interpreted as he was attracted to her. And he drinks a beer.

Regarding Sheldon's money, there was a scene where Howard opens a drawer and finds numerous uncashed checks. When he asks Sheldon why he hasn't cashed them he is told that the things Sheldon would buy with them haven't been invented yet.

I always assumed they were non-faculty researchers. They never call each other or are referred to as "Professor," so they are clearly not faculty. It's always "Dr." this and "Dr." that, so a professor position is out. Whether or not CalTech actually has non-postdoc, non-faculty research positions, I don't know -- but other institutions do.

We never referred to my American university professors as "Professor whatever", it was always "Dr whatever" or by firstname. This applies to profs from the Colleges of Sciences and of Engineering. Other end of the country from CalTech.

We never referred to my American university professors as "Professor whatever", it was always "Dr whatever" or by firstname. This applies to profs from the Colleges of Sciences and of Engineering. Other end of the country from CalTech.

I was a "Postdoctoral Instructor" at Caltech, which meant I taught classes of my own, and my (undergrad) students, somewhat to my discomfiture, insisted on addressing me as "professor".* I did not feel entitled to it, especially as I had come from Britain where only the equivalent of American "full professors" get to be called professor. I would have been much more comfortable being called "Doctor" to which I was proud of being entitled. However, it was clearly not something you could fight. I have taught in other California universities and colleges too, and always been addressed as "Professor" by undergrads even though I was not truly of professorial rank.

In my experience, above the undergraduate (and maybe Master's degree) level things tend to be a lot less formal, and increasingly so as you go up the ranks. Even a doctoral student is likely to address a professor with whom he is acquainted by name, without any title. Only if someone is pretty much a stranger to you, or you are in a particularly formal situation, are you likely to call them Dr. something (or, even more rarely, Professor or Dean, or whatever), as you might call a virtual stranger Mr. something-or-other in other settings. (Although, with certain weird exceptions like British surgeons,** in an academic setting, someone entitled to be called Doctor might be a bit miffed to be called Mister or Ms. I would, in fact. I earned that Ph.D., dammit.)

So certainly in California, but I am fairly sure it is the same throughout the U.S., undergraduates will call any teacher above the rank of T.A. "Professor", but doctoral students on up will mostly use "Doctor," if they are being at all formal (which they often are not).

The fetish made in BBT of calling people Dr., is mainly just part of Sheldon's general weirdness and snobbery. It is not normal academic practice, and I do not think you are meant to think it is.

*Most postdocs are not "Postdoctoral Instructors" however, and I believe most do no teaching at all or only a little, on an occasional basis, helping out an actual professor. Their job is almost entirely research. They do not have undergrad courses of their own and probably will not be routinely called professor by anyone (nor are they entitled to be).

**In Britain, at least, an M.D. (or B.Med.) who qualifies as a surgeon reverts to being called Mister, again. (I am not sure how this works for female surgeons; probably she becomes Ms.) This is considered quite an honour, and a surgeon (surgeons being notoriously prickly) may well resent being addressed as Doctor, even though he is one.

I was a "Postdoctoral Instructor" at Caltech, which meant I taught classes of my own, and my (undergrad) students, somewhat to my discomfiture, insisted on addressing me as "professor".* I did not feel entitled to it, especially as I had come from Britain where only the equivalent of American "full professors" get to be called professor. I would have been much more comfortable being called "Doctor" to which I was proud of being entitled. However, it was clearly not something you could fight. I have taught in other California universities and colleges too, and always been addressed as "Professor" by undergrads even though I was not truly of professorial rank.

YMMV. When I was an undergrad, the PhD's were called "Doctor" and everyone else was Mr./Ms., regardless of their place on the faculty hierarchy. Maybe they called each other something else behind closed doors.

YMMV. When I was an undergrad, the PhD's were called "Doctor" and everyone else was Mr./Ms., regardless of their place on the faculty hierarchy. Maybe they called each other something else behind closed doors.

Well, where were you? I am talking specifically about Caltech, which is where BBT is set, and, as I say, undergraduates insisted on using "Professor" even when technically inappropriate. It was a couple of decades ago when I was there, but can vouch for the fact that the same applied at other So Cal institutions, for instance, Cal State L.A., quite recently.

Very few members of the "faculty hierarchy" at any university level institution, will not be Ph.D.s (or some other type of "doctor"), so I am not really sure what you are talking about there. T.A's are not faculty. Arguably, neither are postdoc's.